Pendulum ball and bowling pin apparatus



2 SHEETSSHEET 1 Williqm 0. Hunter W. D. H UNTER PENDULUM BALL ANDBOWLING PIN APPARATUS April 14, 1953 Filed Aug. 7, 1950 April 14, 1953w. D. HUNTER PENDULUM BALL AND BOWLING PIN APPARATUS 2 SHEETSSHEET 2Fig. 3

Filed Aug. 7, 1950 William 0- Hunter IN V EN TOR.

Patented Apr. 14, 1953 Y UNITED STATE PENDULUM BALL AND' BOWLING PINAPPARATUS William D. Hunter, Detroit, Ml'cl1i Application August 7,1950, Serial No; 178,065

2 Claims; (Cl. 2 73 -40) l The present invention relates to improvementsin recreational apparatus, and more particularly to a simulated bowlinggame for use-in recreation rooms and the like.

An object of the present invention is to'pro-- vide a tethered ball andbowling pin arrangement wherein the supporting plate for the bowling pinis held in angularrelation to the floor with the bowling pinsreleasably-held thereby in order that the tethered ball may be swungfrom one portion of the room toward and over the surface of the platefor striking the pins.

A further object of the present invention resides in the means wherebythe bowling pins are held on the plate.

Still another object of the present invention resides in the provisionof means for holding the bowling pins, said means not depending upongravity, in order that the pins may fall when struck by the tetheredball.

catching sack and the tethered ball, all of the means being positionedfor playing a simulated bowling game;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the bowling pin supporting andcatching means; 7

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken substantiallyalong the plane of line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken substantiallyalong the plane of line 4--4 of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a detailed view showing the means whereby the permanentmagnet is held on the back side of the supporting plate.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, wherein like numeralsdesignate like parts throughout, the numeral l0 designates generally thetethered ball to be employed with the present invention, the numeral l4designates the housing in which the supporting plate I 6 is mounted, thenumeral l8 designates generally the bowling pin construction and thenumeral 20 designates generally the sack means for catching thedislodged bowling pins. 7

.As best seen in Figure 1, a mounting element 22 is secured to theceiling of the room in which the apparatus is to be mounted, and a cord24 is attached thereto. A bowlingball 26 has an eyelet 28 securedthereon and to which the cord 24 is securely attached whereby the ball26 may be swung from the dotted line position to the full line positionfor playing the game.

The housing [4 includes a top wall 30,,a pair of side walls 32 and meansfor attaching the housing M to the ceiling of the recreation room or thelike, said means being the screws 34, as shown in Figure 3.

The supporting plate It is of substantially rectangular form and issecured within the housing [4 by conventional means, such as screws orthe like, and is in angular relation to the floor of the recreationroom. The board I6 is provided with a plurality of tiers of apertures 36through which the ends 38 and 40 of thepermanent magnets 42 may extend.Looking now at Figures 4 and 5, the restraining bar 44, which is formedwith substantially the same contour as the inner edge of the U-shapedpermanent magnet 42, is positioned in abutting relation to the back sideof the plate I6. A U-shaped bracket 46 is engaged around the permanentmagnet 42 and has its angulated ends 48 secured to the back side of theplate It by means 'of the screws 50. With this arrangement, the poleends of the permanent magnet 42 are adapted to be in the same plane asthe face 52 of the plate [6.

The bowling pin means is are of substantially conventional contour andare formed of wood. The bases of the bowling pins [8 have metallic disks54 secured by means of the screws 56 to the pins I8. Inasmuch as thedisks 54 are formed of a material which would be magnetically attractedby the permanent magnets 42, it will readily be seen that the pluralityof bowlingpins I8 may be positioned on the angularly disposed board [6and held there by the magnetic attraction.

The sack means 20 includes a first portion 58 and a pair of side wallportions 60 to which the side edges of the first portion 58 areattached,

as by stitching at 62. The sack 20, when sewed together, provides anopening whereby the pins may be withdrawn from the bottom portion forreplacement on the board H5. The edges of the material forming theopening are folded over at 64 and a wire rod is inserted therein forrigidifying the opening, the folded material being sewed along the line66.

A hook 68 may be secured to the side wall 32 of the housing l4 so thatthe tethered ball 26 may be held thereby when the apparatus is not inuse.

From the foregoing description, taken in conjunction with the drawings,it is believed that a device has beenprovided which will accomplish allof the objects hereinabove set forth. When the ball 28 is swung, asshown in Figure 1, the pins I8 will become dislodged from the magneticattraction of the permanent magnets 42 and will drop into the sack 20for retention thereby. Each player is entitled to swing the ball twicefor each block of the score card, and strikes and spares.

as in the conventional game may be recorded.

Having described the invention, what isgclaimed as new is:

1. In a pendulum ball and bowling pinapparatus, the combination of avertically disposed housing secured to a Walland havingan open front andan open bottom, an upwardly and rearwardly extending support platedisposed in the rear of said housing, means carried by said plate-forsustaining bowling pins in perpendicular relation-in abutment withthe-front face thereof until struck by an object, a tethered ballsecured for pendulum movement toward and over the front face-of-saidplate for dislodging the pins, and a bowling pin receiving sack attachedto 4' and depending from the open bottom of said housing in pinreceiving relation thereto, said sack having a front wall provided withan opening whereby bowling pins may be withdrawn therefrom.

2. In a pendulum ball and bowling pin apparatus, the combination of ahousing comprising a pair of vertically disposed spaced side wallsconnected by atop wall and secured to a vertical support, a supportplate secured between said side walls providing a rear wall for thehousing, means carried by said plate for sustaining bowling pins inabutment with the front face thereof untilas'truck. by an object, atethered ball secured for pendulum movement toward and over the frontface of said plate for dislodging the pins,

References Cited in the file: of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NameDate Towler .a Sept. 6, 1870 Number 1,800,809- Wardrop Apr. 14,, 1931Easton May 12, 1925 l/Vardrop Oct. 21, 1930-

